| Delmarva Now: Five Guys Looks to Expand |
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By Jenny Hopkinson
OCEAN CITY -- Apparently, one Five Guys Burgers and Fries restaurant isn't enough for Ocean City.
Less than a year after the burger joint set up shop at 65th Street, a second location is planned for the White Marlin Mall in West Ocean City. And franchise owner Mike McLaughlin doesn't intend to stop there.
"Our long-term plan is to open West Ocean City in the middle of July and then potentially a third restaurant on the north end," McLaughlin said. "We will see how this season goes, but I think Ocean City can support three year-round locations."
And the proliferation of the affordable and delicious burgers doesn't stop there.
Starting in June, Salisbury University students will be able to dine at a new Five Guys shop on Route 13 across from the campus. The growing university seemed a good fit for the restaurant, which gets a lot of business from the 18- to 20-something crowd, McLaughlin said.
"With the new dorm going in and the college expanding, we think it will be a great location," he added.
When the two locations are opened later this summer, they will be added to the four other successful Five Guys restaurants that McLaughlin owns on the Lower Shore and in Anne Arundel County.
"We came to love Five Guys as customers in northern Virginia," McLaughlin said of himself and his wife. "When the opportunity presented itself to become franchisees in Anne Arundel County, we moved back to do that. Then this territory became available. We've done very well with the brand; Five Guys has an excellent reputation."
And the new restaurants will be much like the others.
"The great thing about Five Guys is they keep it simple -- that's corporate's philosophy," he said. "We are all about hamburgers and fries and giving people the best possible experience with that limited menu."
This article originally appeared in the Delmarva Now. |
